Computacenter PLC (LSE:CCC) shares jumped over 6% to a new all-time high on Friday morning as the FTSE 250 group hiked its outlook after a first-quarter that was significantly ahead of the prior year and well above expectations.
Technology sourcing revenue increased strongly during the quarter, with growth driven primarily by hyperscaler data centre customers in North America and the UK.
Services revenue was also ahead of last year as strong organic growth in professional services offset a decline in managed services.
North America delivered an "excellent" performance, the company said, reflecting a record product order backlog at the start of the year and stronger-than-expected growth in hyperscale customer volume. This supported both technology sourcing and professional services arms.
The UK saw strong growth in technology sourcing, helped by AI-related project completions, while professional services continued to grow strongly.
Western Europe delivered a small improvement over the prior year, though Germany reported solid growth against the prior year, supported by technology sourcing, while professional services remained subdued.
Computacenter said its committed product order backlog remained strong at the end of the quarter. Order intake was supported by some customers ordering IT products earlier than usual to secure supply amid hardware component shortages, it added.
The company now expects a much stronger performance in the first half of 2026 than previously anticipated. For the full year, it said it now expects results to be comfortably ahead of market expectations, assuming no significant deterioration in the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment.
The shares climbed 6.1% to a new high above 3,550p, up more than 50% over the past year to a new record high.
Broker Peel Hunt said it was a "very strong performance", which "far exceeded" expectations, driven by demand from hyperscaler tech companies, with momentum seen as "broad-based".
The order backlog is being strengthened as customers pull forward hardware orders amid component shortages, improving near-term visibility.
** UPDATE: Adds shares price and broker comment **